Maruti Stays Firm Against Fired Workers

NEW DELHI—Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. doesn't plan to take back any of the 546 workers who were fired after a riot at the company's factory in July.

ENLARGE

A file photo of Maruti employees shouting slogans during a protest inside the Manesar plant on October 11, 2011.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

"We have always maintained that the sacked workers won't ever be taken back, and that stand continues," a spokesman for Maruti said Tuesday.

The spokesman was speaking in response to a local media report that said the fired workers are planning a hunger strike and peaceful protests to try to regain their jobs.

The Times of India newspaper said the workers have formed a temporary committee and have served a notice to the government in northern Haryana state for a hunger strike on Wednesday, followed by a rally on Thursday.

The report cited an employee leader as saying that Maruti's action was unfair, because the Haryana government's special investigation team only charged 211 workers.

Maruti, India's largest car maker by sales, has been plagued by labor issues at its factory at Manesar in Haryana. The company also has a factory at nearby Gurgaon.

The labor problems at Manesar turned violent on July 18, when a riot involving hundreds of workers broke out and part of the factory was set on fire. The plant's human-resources manager was killed in the incident and more than 100 people, including company executives and police officers, were injured.

Maruti, Suzuki Motor Corp.'s largest overseas unit, had said at the time that the violence began after a worker and a supervisor got into a scuffle. Workers claimed that the supervisor had thrown a caste-based insult, but both the company and police denied this.

Maruti declared an indefinite lockout at Manesar on July 21, saying that it would resume production only when it was sure that employees would be safe.

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